Open-top refrigerated display case



. June 14, 1949-.

N; ACHS QPEN To? EFRGERATED DISPLAY AsE INVENTOR AUCHOLHY HUI-11S' ATTORNEY bgg/ggg? m To U Uz/HYQNUL Q Patented June 14, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE OPEN-TOP REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE Nicholas Achs, Detroit, Mich.

Application January 26, 1948, Serial No. 4,394

(Cl. (i2-89.6)

1 claim. 1

The invention pertains to top opening refrigerators and more particularly to an improved arrangement of the insulation and the cooling member for such refrigerators.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement of insulation and cooling member for more effectively cooling and circulating the cold air in the storage compartment of a top opening refrigerator.

It is also an object of this invention to provide the insulation and cooling member as a unit which may be conveniently installed into or removed from refrigerator cabinets of the top opening type.

My invention will be more readily understood, and additional objects and advantages thereof will become apparent, by reading the following specification in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view, partially broken away, for showing the internal arrangement of a refrigerator insulation and cooling unit, in accordance with my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View thereof, on line 2-2 in Fig. 1, for showing the internal arrangement.

Referring more specifically to the figures of the drawing, I have illustratively disclosed an embodiment of my invention comprising double Walls of sheet metal Il enclosing insulation space I3 which is filled with any suitable insulation I5, which may be glass wool, rock Wool, or any other suitable thermal insulating material. The sheet metal walls II are of any suitably heavy guage metal for ample structural strength and rigidity. In such structures, galvanized sheet iron has proven satisfactory and is merely mentioned as one example of a suitable material. Such metal sheets are fabricated to form a hollow or double wall construction in accordance with common practice in sheet metal working and the joints are preferably hermetically sealed, as by soldering for example, to exclude moisture from collecting in the insulation cavity.

As shown, this hollow or double wall insulating structure comprises end walls I1, a bottom wall or floor I9, a front wall 2| and a back Wall 23 for enclosing a storage space 25 which opens at the top. The rear Wall 23 is extended upwardly,

substantially above the other walls, and a top hood wall 21 extends forwardly from the uppermost edgeof this back wall. A front hood Wall 29 extends from this top hood wall 21 in spaced relation in front of the upwardly extended back wall, and down so that its lower edge is about even with the upper edges of the front and end walls. The space between the front hood wall 29 and the rear wall is made large enough to receive a cooling member 3| with ample air circulating spaces. Hood end walls 32 are also provided for enclosing the hood space at the ends. The cooling member 3l may be a reversely bent refrigerant tube 33 provided with heat absorbing fins 35 in a conventional construction for conducting any refrigerant vaporizable or otherwise. This cooling member is made of a suitable size so that it extends up the back wall, both in the storage compartment and In the hood enclosed space, and it is mounted on brackets 31 projecting in from the back wall, and arising from the floor.

The insulation and cooling member unit above described, could be utilized, but is preferably flrst installed by slipping it into the open rear of any suitable conventional top opening refrigerator cabinet 4I, to provide a pleasing and iinished appearance, as represented by dotted lines. The refrigerant conduit 33 may be extended for connection with any suitable source of refrigerant, which may be remote or, local and mounted in the bottom of the refrigerator cabinet.

By selection of a suitable refrigerant medium or by adjusting the refrigerant supply system (not shown), in a well known manner, a suitable cold storage temperature may be selected and automatically maintained. In operation, extra cold air collects in the hood from whence it descends into the storage compartment 25 producing circulation and more uniformly maintaining the desired low temperature conditions and preserving the stored `goods in better condition. In this arrangement it is possible also to get more low side or cooling coil into the cabinet which results in maintaining a higher humidity and less shrinkage of meat, vegetables and dairy products.

What is claimed as the invention is:

Refrigeration apparatus comprising a. front wall, a bottom wall, two end walls, a back wall, said walls being of a. hollow thermal insulating construction and disposed enclosing an open top storage compartment of substantially rectangular cross-section, said back Wall extending up substantially above the open top of said compartment, a finned tube cooling member disposed adjacent said back wall both in the storage compartment and thereabove, a thermal insulating hood enclosing a)A space around the cooling member on the front side of the upwardly extended portion of said back wall, said hood opening downwardly into said storage compartment,

NICHOLAS ACHs. 5

REFERENCES CITED The folldwing references are of record in the le of this patent:`

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Gardner June 8, 1937 Nordskog Feb. 3, 1942 Caulk Aug. 14, 1945 

